Cooking with LoulaGreek Recipes from My Family to Yours

A charming Greek cookbook honoring family, tradition, and the pleasures of sharing a meal

In Cooking with Loula, Alexandra Stratou invites readers into her Greek family’s kitchen, revealing their annual traditions and bringing their recipes to life—with touching remembrances of Kyria Loula (Kyria means “Mrs.” in Greek), the woman who cooked for three generations of Stratou’s family and who taught her that the secret ingredient in any beloved dish is the spirit the cook brings with her to the kitchen.Many classic dishes are represented here, such as pastitsio and dolmades, as well as inventive, unconventional creations such as a green salad with avocado, apple, and Dijon mustard and a spinach gnocchi in which feta cheese appears alongside Gorgonzola. The nearly 100 recipes are all hearty and unfussy, and organized the way real home cooks think, with chapters for simple, healthful weekday dishes; more languorous Sunday meals; and traditional holiday fare. With hundreds of mouthwatering photographs and whimsical illustrations, this book is truly a gem.

Alexandra Stratou, an Athens native, attended the Luis Irizar Cooking School in San Sebastián, Spain, after graduating with a bachelor of arts from Brown University in 2006. Stratou worked in restaurant kitchens both in Spain and Greece before becoming the editor in chief of Gourmed, a Mediterranean food website. She self-published the original edition of Cooking with Loula (then called Cooking to Share) through a Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Currently based in Athens, she travels the world as a chef, creating events large and small, in both public and private spheres under her brand, Cooking to Share.

“Chapter titles (e.g., Weekdays, Sundays, Traditions, Essential Recipes) will make perfect sense to home cooks, who will find it easy to determine which dishes can be made every day and which meals should be saved for weekends and special occasions. There’s a handy chart that orders all the recipes by cooking time, as well as an array of inviting, unfussy photographs. VERDICT: Stratou’s unique and intensely personal cookbook is a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal

“This is not just another Greek cookbook—it is a cookbook with heart.” —Booklist

“Stratou approaches Greek food in a soulful and imaginative way that honors the generations of cooks who have come before her.” —Alice Waters